A Winter Solstice Tale
by Uncle Charlie
Summary: Sapphire and Steel await a very special visitor at Stonehenge. Their purpose, to reign in a Time Lord... but what is that howling noise? Could it be the Curse of a Demon? Part of the 25 Days of Christmas Fic.


They stood silent and silhouetted black against a winter sky just as they had for centuries.

_Sapphire, tell me about this place. _

_It was thought that the first people to erect stones here were in the Neolithic period. There are two circles. The inner one was constructed around 2000 BC of small bluestones. It was abandoned shortly after it was finished, but no one really knows why._

_And the outer ring?_

_They are sarsen stones, each one weighing up to fifty tons each. It was thought they were moved into place around 1500 B.C._

_For what purpose? _Steel walked to one of the upright stones and placed a hand upon it. He blinked and then turned back to Sapphire. "It's warm." His breath came out as a white puff.

"Yes."

"But, Sapphire, it is cold out here." He could feel the frigid air as it brushed against his face and tried to worm its way into his heavy overcoat. "There is snow on the ground and no sun. How?"

"The mystery that is Stonehenge, Steel. No one knows how. As for their purpose - Druid celebration, a calendar, burial site - there are as many speculations as there are stones in the circle. One theory holds that Merlin, a great wizard, brought them to the Salisbury Plain from Ireland, but it is more likely that it was started by the Neolithic peoples and then completed by the Beaker people –"

"Beaker people? They had beaks?"

"No, their pottery had pouring spouts. They brought the stones from Marlborough Downs. It was back-breaking work and required massive effort, yet the monument was thought to have been abandoned shortly after completion."

Steel walked into the center of the site, his shoes crunching through the thin layer of snow that blanketed the field, and looked around. "Then why are we here, Sapphire?"

"It was abandoned, but no longer. It is used by others. Some worship here, others come to take photographs and play the interested tourist."

"But why are we here, Sapphire?"

"This is the eve of the winter solstice, Steel. It is a time of great hope and considerable power. He will be here."

"A Time Thief?" Steel shook his head and then readjusted his muffler around his neck. "Why?"

"The shortest day of the year when the sun is at its weakest and the human spirit is at its lowest. Ancient people would despair that winter would never leave, yet noted from this day forward, the days began to lengthen. It gave them strength and a courage to will out the winter. When better to steal time? Who would notice a few less minutes of the dark now?"

"No, Sapphire, I meant why steal time at all? It seems rather pointless. A few second less of a day this year or that."

"It makes a big difference when it's tallied," she trailed off. _Steel, someone is coming._

Steel slipped an arm around her waist and quickly guided her to behind one of the upright stones. _Who?_

_A man._ She closed her eyes and their footprints in the snow vanished.

They watched as a lone figure moved across the plain from the road. He walked purposefully to the ring and looked around as if sensing something, but not knowing what. After a moment he walked to an eastern stone and placed his hand on it, much as Steel had done.

The absolute stillness of the night was broken by his murmured chanting.

_The Time Thief?_

_I don't think so. They, as a rule, don't read Runic writing._

"You can come out. I can hear you." The man turned and looked towards their hiding place. "You are welcomed into the circle. No one is refused."

Slowly Steel stood and Sapphire caught his hand. "It's all right, Sapphire. If it is a Time Thief, he'll have no effect on me."

"I'm not a thief of any sort, young man… no, not young. You appear young, but you are very old."

"Old is a definition that does not apply to me," Steel said, drawing himself up to his full height. "Who are you?"

"Oh, just a person passing though."

"He's not, Steel." Sapphire stepped out from behind the rock. "He's a wizard."

"Of magic?"

"Of the old magicks. Isn't that correct, Mr. Cosgrove?"

"You are a clever young woman." The sky was beginning to lighten and the man clasped his hands before him. "But even you are not clever enough to save your friend."

Instinctively, Sapphire glanced back at Steel. "He is fine."

"Not him. The other traveler. The one who tried to steal from me. No one has that right." There was a noise and a figure stumbled into the circle.

He spun around as if hearing a sound, yet there was not even the rustle of wind, then he saw the trio. A sob escaped his lips and he groped his way to them.

"Help me," he cried, dropping to his knees. "You're Elementals! You can help me."

"Sapphire, I believe we have found our Time Thief."

"Alas, Mr. Denbora, it is too late for them to help you," Cosgrove murmured. "Your time is nearly up."

"Denbora?" Steel smiled. "Basque for Time. Surely you could have done better than that. You have several entities who wish to have a long discussion with you, Thief."

"I'm afraid that Mr. Denbora has a previous commitment." Cosgrove checked his watch. "Very nearly time now."

"I'm afraid ours precedes yours." Steel reached for Denbora and a jolt of pain shot up his arm. Steel grasped his own elbow with a gasp. "What did you do?"

Cosgrove dropped his hand from the bridge of his nose. "Oh, it's just a little protection spell to see that Mr. Denbora gets what he has coming to him."

"You don't understand," Sapphire said, crossing her arms and looking quite determined. "He is a thief and he must return with us."

"I agree. He is a thief and, in a few moments, it won't really matter. There is nothing you can do unless, of course, you can manipulate time." Cosgrove started to laugh and Steel walked over to Sapphire and nodded. They were suddenly in a parlor and Cosgrove was clutching onto the back of a chair. "What… what did you do?"

"As you suggested, I took back time. Just a few days, a week, nothing more."

"Where is Denbora?"

"He's arriving just now. " Steel looked out a parlor window. "And we three will be taking our leave of you."

"No!" Cosgrove stamped his foot. "I will have my revenge."

"Perhaps, but not today." Steel walked to the parlor door just as it opened and Denbora stepped through.

He stopped and gasped at the sight of the two agents, then took a step backward. His escape was cut short as Steel grasped his forearm. "Hello, Denbora."

"Who? That's not me. My… my name is Smith. John Smith."

Sapphire laughed. "Then, Mr. Smith, do we have a surprise for you."

"NO!" Cosgrove shouted, but then he vanished from view and again they were standing on the Salisbury Plain, in the center of Stonehenge.

The ground shook with the approach of something, and Steel pushed Sapphire and Denbora behind him.

"What is that?"

"I don't know." A great creature suddenly appeared and looked around. It roared and flailed its talons in the air. Then it spotted Steel and reached for him.

Steel had anticipated and dropped his core down. _Too little too late?_ he thought as the creature grabbed him. Then it howled and released him as if he were a hot potato or rather a very cold one.

In a rage, the creature struck out and knocked one of the lintels from its perch and vanished from view.

"What was that?" Denbora gasped. Sapphire left him and went to Steel's side. The man was half dazed and trying to sit up.

"Don't touch me," he snapped. "I'm still too cold." Steel got to his knees and looked around. "Where is Denbora?"

"Over…" Sapphire looked and sighed. "Gone. Oh no, he's gone."

"It's all right. We kept him from his purpose, which was to steal time from this point. We will find him again."

"What happened, Steel?" She cautiously touched his arm. "That creature, I didn't recognize it from a bank of earth creatures."

"I'm not certain. Something Cosgrove conjured up possibly. It doesn't matter. It didn't get Denbora, but we will." He got to his feet and rubbed his back as he glanced over at the fallen lintels. "I'd always wondered how that one got knocked over." He brushed the snow from his hands and held one out to Sapphire. "In a few minutes we will be intruding. The faithful will be here soon to celebrate the Winter Solstice and we must be gone."

Sapphire nodded and sighed. "Still, we failed."

"But he's alive, so we succeeded." A bus was approaching and Steel brought her glove to his mouth to kiss it. "He can run. He always runs."

And they slowly vanished from sight just as the first group of worshippers entered the stone circle.


End file.
